Wireless sensorization is replacing hard-wired fire protection sensing systems. Typically, protection sensing systems (e.g., smoke detectors) are hard-wired to the fire protection system's main fire panel. The main fire panel often resides at the front or in the basement of a building. The hard-wired fire protection sensing systems are deployed across the building's infrastructure and draw their power from the centralized power source (namely, the main fire panel). Relatively long wires are required to run throughout the building to facilitate the supply of power from the main fire panel to each of the hard-wired fire protection sensing systems. In effect, the systems have large installation costs resulting from the amount of labor and time required to install the same within the building.
Wireless sensorization is also being deployed using batteries to provide sensor and transceiver power. However, these batteries typically have to be replaced within one to two years. In some scenarios, thousands of sensors may be deployed within a single building. One can appreciate that it is quite expensive (in terms of labor, time and part costs) to replace the batteries every few years for each of these sensors.
These wireless sensing systems (e.g., fire systems and gas sensing systems) may be deployed in areas (e.g., vacation home and stairwells) where a primary energy harvesting source (e.g. lighting) may be turned off for relatively long periods of time (e.g., such as overnight, through a weekend, over holidays, or blocked by shades/blinds/clouds). Even in such environments where the energy harvesting source may be intermittent or turned off for extended periods of time, these wireless sensing systems must continue to operate and provide the safety and security to its environment.